Atticus dashed through the forest at fast speed.
When he and Aurora had gotten attacked, he had decided to leave the second person he spotted to her.
Firstly because he trusted her fighting abilities completely. He had sparred with Aurora a lot of times and although she lost each one for obvious reasons, Atticus was certain about her battle capabilities. And secondly because he couldn't go after two people at once.
He wasn't too worried about the outcome of the battle especially when she had mentioned that she took survival classes at the academy.
And sure enough, Atticus saw a golden light illuminate the forest a few meters ahead of him. His figure sped up, reaching a small clearing.
His gaze landed on Aurora standing in front of a small crater.
"Did he give you any trouble?" Atticus asked as he reached Aurora's side.
"No, he was pretty weak without his gun. As soon as I got close enough it was over," Aurora shook her head, turning to look at Atticus with a smile.
"Stop showing off," Atticus teased with a small smile.
A red flush ran from Aurora's neck, her face instantly turning crimson in embarrassment, "Wh-who's showing off! I was just stating the fact!"
"Pfttt.." Atticus broke into a fit of laughter, his mirth resounding across the forest.
But he soon had to stop as he saw Aurora unsheathing a dagger from her back while looking at him murderously.
Atticus awkwardly cleared his throat, "Let's go eat!" He exclaimed before suddenly turning and instantly dashing away towards their cave.
Aurora stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head and following him closely behind.
…
A man stood with both hands clasped behind his back while staring at the figure of a youth who was currently battling with 10 individuals simultaneously.
This man had the features of the bone race with whitish skin and a completely bald head. However, just like the Queen, Viviana Ossara, there was not a single bone jutting out of his body.
The red marks tracing along his skin followed the same pattern as that of Viviana and he had an aged white beard on his chin.
Standing at an impressive height of 6 feet 2, the man radiated a sage-like aura reminiscent of an elderly sage.
His gaze was fixated directly upon the ongoing battle.
The youth, along with each of the 10 individuals he was currently battling with, exuded an aura of an Expert-rank.
And yet, despite the fact that he was fighting them all at once, he seemed to be winning.
He also shared the same features as the Queen, Viviana, and was fighting the 10 expert-rank individuals with an expressionless look on his face.
Unlike his opponents who were only either manipulating bones to form scythes and attack or increasing the density of bones in their bodies for a heavier or faster attack, the youth simply stood with both hands in his pockets.
Just as any attack was about to hit him, a bone-like shield would suddenly materialize effortlessly, blocking the attacks, followed by a blunt bone materializing from below and hitting the attackers with brutal force.
Despite the intensity of the battle, the youth didn't appear to have moved an inch from his position.
A communication artifact inside the man observing the battle's pocket suddenly vibrated, and he instantly reached for it.
Seeing the name of the person calling, he couldn't help but let out a small sigh.
He walked back a little bit and picked up the call, the artifact floating in front of him, and instantaneously the holographic image of what was undoubtedly the queen, Viviana, appeared in front of his face.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, my Queen," The man offered a sarcastic bow.
Viviana's face appeared impassive, not uttering a word for a few seconds before replying succinctly,
"You know why I'm calling, father,"
A chuckle seemed to escape the man's mouth as he heard Viviana's words.
"Oh, now I'm your father? Only when you need help, right?"
"Father-"
"Do not call me that again," the man's voice suddenly turned icy, interrupting Viviana's words.
Maintaining his icy tone, he continued, "The only reason I gave you the position of family head and plotted for you to marry into the royal family was so that you could raise our family status back to its former glory! But despite decades having passed, you've done nothing! And you dare call me father!?"
Many would have at the very least gone through a change of expression after hearing all this, especially from a man they call father, but Viviana's gaze remained expressionless and completely impassive. There was not a single change of expression on her face.
Seeing as he didn't get a single reaction from her, the man closed his eyes, letting out a small sigh before muttering, "Of course, what did I expect,"
"Are you going to help?" Viviana's neutral voice sounded at the next instant.
Staring at her for a few seconds, he shook his head before responding, a small smile appearing on his lips,
"Of course I will, my grandson was murdered after all,"
"Good. His emblem wasn't with him when they brought his body back, you'll receive an item that enables you to track it soon. In the meantime, this is his face,"
The communication artifact suddenly sounded before displaying a perfect image of Atticus, down to the last detail.
With how advanced the technology of the world was, plus the perfect description Illa had given, achieving this much wasn't hard.
The man stared at Atticus's image for a few seconds, and just as he was about to comment, a click sound sounded, followed by Viviana's image suddenly disappearing.
The man gazed at the empty space where her image had been for a few seconds without saying anything.
Then he shook his head, muttering under his breath, "Was it my seed that resulted in this? I truly doubt it,"
The man retrieved his communication artifact and gave the youth who had been fighting a stare.
Immediately the youth met the man's stare, the air around him seemed to change as a staggering amount of large bones with blunt points suddenly materialized in the air all around him.
In an abrupt motion, they each shot at supersonic speeds towards the forms of the men, catching each of them off guard and hitting each with brutal intensity.
In an instant and with just one move, 10 expert-rank individuals had been neutralized.